LWW Cuba Network Coordinating Team

Newsletter October, 2016

Jim Luther, editor

luther5848@att.net

Vol. 4; No. 1

Moderators Message
As a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Minneapolis, the PCUSA Cuba Partners, and Living Waters for the
Worlds (LWWs) Cuba Network I have been blessed by longstanding relationships within Cuban faith communities. I am
but one individual among many who has reached across the
divide as a participant in a PCUSA ministry and found kinship
and community with Cuban brothers and sisters. The relationships we have formed provide a uniquely personal perspective on current events, and in many ways, have paved the
way for Cuba and the United States to begin the current dialogue of reconciliation.
I am encouraged by our leaders willingness to take steps
toward reconnecting our long-divided countries, but true
change takes time. While hoping for a future in which Cuban
lives are improved on a large scale, I too serve as moderator
of LWWs Cuba Network which actively works to ensure that
Cuban communities have clean water to support their survival
today.

The Family Patio

by Laura Liz Gil Echenique

I am 67 years old, but Im still as strong as the name the people has given to this church, El Fuerte, The Church of the
Water. I open my eyes every day feeling grateful for coming
here to help and to bring water for the nine people who live in
my family. I have been a volunteer for four years now and in
the beginning I came every morning to help fill the bottles or
to give out new or clean bottles. Now I dont have to come
every day. People now know more about the system, and
when they should arrive. El Fuerte has become like the patio
of a family home where relatives visit with each other while

Earlier this year, an audit of LWW systems in Cuba revealed

that all of the audited systems were producing clean water. In
fact, they were producing clean water in the highest quantities ever reported by LWW systems! This success is a testimony to the strength of relationships between church partners
as well as the direction of LWWs Cuba leadership team. It is
also proof that investments in Cuban water projects are
among the most reliable, most life-changing investments one
could make.
As you read through this newsletter and consider how you are
called to support the people of Cuba, I ask you to give thought
to investing in LWWs Cuba Network. The Network is funded
entirely through private donations, so all gifts support programs and activities designed to build the capacity of Cuban
partners and improve access to clean water. With your help,
clean water will flow for a generation, and Living Waters for
the World will shine as a beacon of healing and reconciliation
as made possible in Jesus Christ.
Yours in Mission, Ed Cunnington
To give:
Mail a check made payable to Living Waters for the World
with Cuba Network in the memo line to:
Living Waters for the World, 5016 Spedale Ct. #399
Spring Hill, TN 37174 OR online at livingwatersfortheworld.org/donate

I usually come on Fridays to work as a volunteer, I wear a blue

T-shirt with the Living Waters for the World logo and I walk
happily to the church. There used to be twenty volunteers and
after four years, thirteen still remain. My volunteer partner on
Fridays had serious stomach problems before she began to
come to get clean water, but now she no longer does. She uses
her time wisely so that she can come more than once a week
to help in the healing of people by offering clean water to
drink. Her husband is also a volunteer, and her children have
grown up playing on the patio with their friends. We call
them The Water Cousins.
(contd. on page 2)

(contd. from page 1)

When I was younger and before I had grandchildren and gray hair, I used to work in construction. When we built an aqueduct and a sewage system I learned the importance of having clean water. The water in Cardenas comes from wells which
eventually got contaminated and people began to get sick. I knew about the importance of drinking purified water, and did
my best to get water from other sources. Fortunately I learned of the water system at El Fuerte shortly after its installation
and I educated my family about its importance.
I have heard many stories of people with immune problems, kidney problems, ulcers or upset stomach who have come to
get water to stay healthy. My grandsons have grown up this way and that is why when I come here I am no longer filling
bottles, I am filling my soul. I fill my pockets with the faith of the people, whether Christians or not. And after two hours, I
am filled with dreams for the future. I am ready for another morning at The Family Patio!

Clean Water for the Methodists of Gibara

By Bill Kelly

In April, 2016, a team of nine men and women from New

Jersey and New York installed a Living Waters for the
World system at the Mount Zion Methodist Church in
Gibara, a community on the northeast coast of Cuba. This
installation was significant for several reasons: it was the
first LWW installation at a Methodist church on the island, it involved a team from two different states and the
initial site survey was done by Kary LaFors of Lower Providence Presbyterian Church in a third state, Pennsylvania.
The actual installation team included six people from New
Jersey, representing four churches in West Jersey Presbytery (WJP), plus three individuals from First Presbyterian
Church of Ithaca, NY. Four of the nine participants were
novices, having never been on an LWW installation or
even attended Clean Water U. All team members, however, came to New Jersey for training sessions well before
the team left for Cuba. For those of us with in-depth
LWW experience it was a great pleasure to introduce
these four individuals to the joy of this mission work. All
four found it to be a meaningful endeavor, and all are
eager to participate in more installations.
The full team assembled in New Jersey on April 3, and
then flew from Philadelphia to Miami on the following
day. There, we hoofed our 24 pieces of luggage to the
Red Roof Inn, spent the night, and then hoofed them
back to the Miami Airport. (Someday we hope to be able
to skip the stop in Miami!) The next morning, we flew
from Miami to Holguin (one of the three places that the
Pope visited). Excess baggage charges for this leg cost us
almost $1600. The photo above shows our team after
deplaning in Holguin, which has a pleasant regional

airport. From there, we were taken by van north for an

hour to Gibara, a coastal town with a population of about
20,000.Three members of our team had been to this delightful town several years ago when we participated in an
LWW installation at the Quaker Center. (This earlier effort
was led by Kary LaFors.) The Quakers were happy to have
us back, and we stayed there for a week. The Methodist
church was only a mile away, and sometimes we commuted to work in horse-drawn taxis a cool way to travel! Our
operating partners at the Iglesia Metodista Monte Sion
were great people to work with. Procurement of tanks
and other materials to be supplied locally had been a challenge, but all were on site by the time that we arrived,
though nothing had been put in place. Patience! Patience! The system was installed in a small room on the
roof above the pastors apartment. The photo followingshows part of the team and some Cubans celebrating in
front of the installation room.
(contd. on page 3)

(contd. from page 2)

An interesting feature of this installation was the use of prefiltering, an approach that had been used at the Quaker Center
to deal with the high mineral content of the city water. The
three pre-filters are shown in the following photograph. An
early plan to place these on the outside wall of the installation
room was scrubbed because there they would be subject to the
blazing tropical sun for most of the day. The filter canisters
should last much longer inside. These filters are to be rinsed
once a week.

Because of the decision to pre-filter the water, this site ended

up having three containers with three different types of water.
City water entered from the street and was stored in an inground cistern. When needed, this water was pumped to the
roof, passed through the pre-filters, and then stored in what
normally is called the raw-water tank. Let us call this the prefiltered water tank (PFWT). When a batch of purified water was
to be prepared this pre-filtered water would pass from the
PFWT, go through the LWW system, and enter the clean-water
tank, waiting for consumers to come with their receptacles. (As
with most LWW installations in Cuba, no bottle exchange was
instituted at this site.)

An interesting feature of this set-up with three types of

water is that Pastor Pedro wanted to plumb the system so
that pre-filtered water could be piped down to his apartment for selected household uses such as washing dishes.
This proposal was politely turned aside for two reasons:
(1) the team was running short of time, and we did not
want the plumber to spend time on this extra task, and (2)
concern that the extra volume of water passing through
the pre-filters would wear them out prematurely. (The
pastor of the Quaker Center, who now has extensive experience with such pre-filtering, was among those who expressed this concern.) But, given the presence of high
mineral contents in the water of many sites in Cuba, this
pre-filtering approach may become common, and the
question of alternate uses of the pre-filtered water may
arise again. Our team recommends that the Cuba Network and LWW review this issue and offer guidance on
suggested responses, should proposals for alternate uses
of this pre-filtered water arise in the future.
In the end, the installation was completed on time, we
had a grand celebration, and our team even had a day for
an outing. Before we started home, we took the following
picture of the team with Pastor Pedro. From left to right,
we have Bill Kelly (101), Alice Wooden-Kelly (102), Mike
Rugge (103), Pastor Pedro Cabrera, Joan Rugge (102), Rev.
Phil Courtney (103), Rev. John McDonald (102), Suzy
Courtney (102), Charlie Matthews (103 and fundraiser par
excellence), and Rev. Lory Ryan (103).

On June 23, Pastor Pedro reported that all was going well
and that they were supplying clean water to 80-90 people
per day. It was a pleasure for us to install at this Methodist church, and we look forward to another such opportunity in the future.

First Cuban Attends Living Waters for the World Water School!
the Presbyterian Church in Cuba. He attended a Presbyterian
school affiliated with Juan G. Hall Presbyterian Church in Cardenas where his father was the Director and also has close
ties to El Fuerte Presbyterian Church. Both churches have
LWW water systems and Gustavo had a desire to know more
about the systems and to be of help in maintaining these systems as well as assisting visiting LWW teams. Through the
assistance of St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New
Orleans and a LWW scholarship as well as last second paperwork approvals, the way was cleared for Gustavo to attend
CWU. He received rave reviews from his instructors and fellow classmates at CWU. Gustavo attends and works at the
Dora Valentin Presbyterian Church in Varadero where his wife
is the Director. Two of his CWU classmates are on a team that
will install the fourth LWW system in Cardenas and Gustavo
readily agreed to assist them in the preparation and installation. Gustavo has been a supporter of LWW in Cuba since the
beginning of the work there and we are proud to have him in
the LWW family in the LWW Cuba Network.

Pictured from left to right: Miriam Mazariegos (Guatemala),

Jackson Pierre (Haiti), Rubenia Sanchez (Guatemala), and
Gustavo Rodruguez (Cuba)

At Clean Water U in September, LWW hosted our first Cuban

attendee, Gustavo Rodriguez, from Varadero, Cuba. Gustavo,
a hydrological engineer, was born in Cardenas and raised in

How You Can Participate In The LWW Cuba Network

Pray for the LWW teams and their work in Cuba

Pray for the Cuban people who lack access to clean

water

Form a LWW team, attend training at Clean Water

U and install a system in a Cuban community in
need of clean water

Contribute to Living Waters for the World and designate your gift to the LWW Cuba Network (http://
livingwatersfortheworld.org/ecard/index.php)

Contribute directly to a team doing an installation in

Cuba

Become a Sustaining Partner to ensure that existing

systems are provided funding for maintenance and
repairs

Purchase and carry spare parts and filters when you

travel to Cuba (contact the LWW Cuba Network for
details)

Encourage others to become involved in LWW in

Cuba

Share information about LWW in Cuba on social

media

Be a clean water advocate

Have questions about working in Cuba? Click on this link.

https://livingwatersfortheworld.box.com/s/rg0qjgn2rwptk4ko4nyg

AGUAS VIVAS PARA EL MUNDO - CUBA

LIST OF LWW SYSTEMS INSTALLED AS OF SEPTEMBER 2016
TEAM NAME

DATE

PLACE

June

Laurel, Mississippi

2009

First-Trinity Presbyterian Church

June

Laurel, Mississippi

2010

First-Trinity Presbyterian Church

July

Laurel, Mississippi

2011

Christ Church/ St. John Presbyterian Houston, Texas

November

Iglesia de la Playa

Karen Persley

2011

Matanzas

krp111154@sbcglobal.net

Clear Lake Presbyterian Church

November

Kairos Center / First Baptist - Matanzas

Jim Luther

Houston, Texas

2011

Westminster Presbyterian Church

January 2012

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Seminario Evanglico de Teologa

CONTACT

First-Trinity Presbyterian Church

Matanzas

benz_mom@hotmail.com
La Playa Childrens Home - Matanzas

Verniece Goode
benz_mom@hotmail.com

Luther42@gmail.com
Luyan Presbyterian

Ed Cunnington

Havana

edkarc@aol.com
LauraSt.Clair

May

El Fuerte Presbyterian

New Orleans, Louisiana

2012

Cardenas

First-Trinity Presbyterian, Laurel, MS

July

Sancti Spiritus Presbyterian

First Presbyterian, Greenville, MS

2012

St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian

November

New Orleans, Louisiana

2012

Clear Lake Presbyterian Church

November

Houston, Texas

2012

Westminster Pres., Minneapolis, MN &

March 2013

Guines Presbyterian Church

University Presbyterian Church

April

Getsemani

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

2013

West Jersey Presbytery

June

laura.st.clair1@gmail.com
Sancti Spiritus

Verniece Goode
Benz_mom@hotmail.com

Juan G. Hall Presbyterian Church Cardenas

Bonnie Shoemaker
bonshoemaker@gmail.com

San Antonio de los Baos Presbyterian

Jim Luther
Luther42@gmail.com
Ed Cunnington

Presbytery of Long Island, New York

edkarc@aol.com
San Jose de los Ramos

June

Santa Clara

El Buen Pastor

Union de Reyes

July

Eagleville, Pennsylvania

2013

Clear Lake Presbyterian Church Houston, Texas

November

Bill Kelly
Chinabill@comcast.net

Iglesia de Amigos (Quaker)

Holguin

Kary LaFors
karylafors@gmail.com

Escuela Abel Santamaria

Havana

Jim Luther

2013
November

Bill Kelly
Chinabill@comcast.net

2013
Lower Providence Presbyterian

Linda Walker
lstodwalk@bellsouth.net

CANIP

2013

Clear Lake Presbyterian Church Houston, Texas

Verniece Goode
benz_mom@hotmail.com

Martin Luther King Center /Ebenezer Baptist - Havana

St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian

West Jersey Presbytery

Verniece Goode

Luther42@gmail.com
Soldiers of the Cross Seminary

Playa Baracoa

2013

Jim Luther
Luther42@gmail.com

St. Johns Episcopal

November

San Pedro Apostal Episcopal

Dennis and Sandra Howard

Tallahassee, Florida

2013

Zorilla

docpest@embarqmail.com

St. Johns Episcopal

November

Cristo Rey Episcopal Church

Dennis and Sandra Howard

Tallahassee, Florida

2103

Cuatro Esquinas

docpest@embarqmail.com

Presbytery of South Louisiana

November

Matanzas Central Presbyterian

Laura St. Clair

2013
Lower Providence Presbyterian

Laura.st.clair1@gmail.com

February 2014

Iglesia de Amigos (Quaker) Gibara

Westminster Pres., Minneapolis, MN &

April

Los Palos Presbyterian Church

Ed Cunnington

Presbytery of Long Island, New York

2014

Havana

edkarc@aol.com

University Presbyterian Church

September

Cuban Council of Churches

Linda Walker

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

2014

Havana

lstodwalk@bellsouth.net

Clear Lake Presbyterian Church

November

Residencia de la Tercera Edad

Jim Luther

Houston, Texas

2014

Colon

Luther42@gmail.com

Westminster Presbyterian Church

November

Guanabacoa Presbyterian

Ed Cunnington

Minneapolis, Minnesota

2014

Guanabacoa, Havana

edkarc@aol.com

First-Trinity Presbyterian, Laurel, MS

November

Cabaiguan Presbyterian Church

Verniece Goode

First Presbyterian, Greenville, MS

2014

Cabaiguan

Benz_mom@hotmail.com

St. Johns Episcopal Church

January

La Trinidad Episcopal Church

Tyler Macmillan

Tallahassee, Florida

2015

Los Arabos

tylermac@embarqmail.com

Immanuel Presbyterian Church

April

Center for Christian Reflection and Dialog - Cardenas

Jean Dow

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

2015

Highpoint Church

June

Camajuani Presbyterian Church

Gabe Ferrer

Memphis Tennessee

2015

Camajuani

ferrerg@comcast.net

Christ Church Episcopal

September

Iglesia Buen Pastor Episcopal

Ron Kessner

Ponte Verde, Florida

2015

Guira

Ron.kessner@comcast.net

St. Johns Presbyterian Church

December

Fraternity of Baptists Camp

Lynn Turpin

Jacksonville, FL

2015

Guanabacoa

laturp@bellsouth.net

BIRP (Brevard/Indian River Presbyterians)/Central FL Presbytery

May

Paraiso Obrero (IPRC)

Judy Noble

2016

Cabaiguan

fire2last@aol.com

Clear Lake Presbyterian Church

November

Salvation Army Home for the Aged Marianao (Havana)

Jim Luther

Houston, TX

2014

Lower Providence Presbyterian

February

Eagleville, Pennsylvania

2016

Lower Providence Presbyterian

April

Eagleville, Pennsylvania

2016

Eagleville, Pennsylvania

Kary LaFors
karylafors@gmail.com

jeandow@immanuelwi.org

Luther42@gmail.com
Iglesia Adventista del Septimo Dia Holguin

Kary LaFors
karylafors@gmail.com

Iglesia Metodista

Kary LaFors
karylafors@gmail.com

Gibara
Westminster Presbyterian Church

June

Minneapolis, Minnesota

2016

First Presbyterian Church

November

Tupelo, MS

2015

Seventh Day Adventist Church

Ed Cunnington
edkarc@aol.com

Pinos Nuevos Iglesia Evangelica

George Dent
georgedent@bellsouth.net

Havana (Habana Vieja)

Links of Interest
Living Waters for the World Website http://livingwatersfortheworld.org
Water of Life Newsletter - http://livingwatersfortheworld.org/PageN-News.php
LWW Cuba Network Information - http://livingwatersfortheworld.org/LWW_MO.php
LWW Network - http://missioncrossroads.ning.com/group/living-waters-for-the-world
LWW Cuba Network Guidebook - https://livingwatersfortheworld.box.com/s/e1dqmwbxyabvhdhoes4c
LWW Cuba Network Newsletters - http://www.scribd.com/collections/4459078/Living-Waters-for-the-World-CubaNetwork-Newsletters
LWW You Tube Channel (LWW Videos) - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL73EB8B18EF9532DA
Cuba Network Coordinating Team - https://livingwatersfortheworld.box.com/s/ffkcyfxnzqxlobxd0kur

Whos Who in the LWW Cuba Network

Laura serves as a Ruling Elder for St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans (SCAPC). Since the 1980s
they have been in partnership with El Fuerte Church
in Cardenas, Cuba. Laura attended 101 LWW training and
102 Solar training in 2011. SCAPC installed a LWW system at El Fuerte in 2012 with Laura as the 101. SCAPC has
also installed a LWW system at Juan G Hall Church in Cardenas, Cuba.
The Presbytery of South Louisiana (PSL) has also been in
partnership with Matanzas Presbytery since the
80s. Laura was the 101 in a PSL installation at Matanzas
Central PC in 2013. She is the Cuba Partner representative for the LWW and the LWW representative for Cuba
Partners.

Laura St. Clair

Laura, and her husband Doug, have one 28-year old

son. She is a dietitian, retired from pharmaceutical sales.

If your church is interested in participating in the LWW mission in Cuba, there are a
number of sites waiting for partners. These sites have been visited by LWW Cuba Network representatives in the past and vetted by our partners in Cuba as being viable
sites for consideration and partnership.
For more information, contact Ed Cunnington at edkarc@aol.com

If you would like to have your material published in this newsletter, please submit to Jim Luther at Luther5848@att.net.